Birthday Cakes and Motorbike Races

Happy Birthday Suri & Devin!

Liam has been preparing for his friends birthdays for a while. If Liam had his way, every day would be Liam's birthday. He would never have to go to another child's birthday party, because all the parties would be for him, at his house. At least this was how he felt until last week.

Tuesday was Suri's 2nd birthday, and today is D's 2nd birthday. (Yes, Liam's two best friends were born a few days apart, but unfortunately we didn't know Suri back then.) We went to Suri's to celebrate on Tuesday afternoon. Liam had fun playing with Suri's cousins and neighborhood friends. The day would have been perfect had Liam not exploded in the car on the way home. (I think this may be his way of telling us that his medicine needs adjusting, or perhaps he doesn't need it anymore?)

Just before Suri's birthday, Liam figured out that birthday parties are fun, even if he is not the guest of honor. He also realized that his friends get gifts too. So after Suri's party, Liam asked if we could get Devin a Red Step 2 Motorcycle, just like Liam's for Devin's birthday. There was only one thing on Liam's mind at the time, I'm sure: motorcycle races.

The best part about racing motorcycles would have to be the crashing. Both boys enjoyed the first pre-ameteur, back-alley motorbike race, sponsored by Step2 and Huggies.

Liam won the first heat, mostly because Devin was getting used to the bike. D won the second heat, perhaps because Liam was riding in the wrong direction. The bikes malfunctioned in the third heat, with both bikes curiously beeping and honking in unison. In the last heat, both boys got of the bikes and had to be coaxed back on by the bystander daddies. The bikes required tow trucks, and had to be parked in the garage overnight.

Two years ago, Liam was sitting up and eating solid food (well that cereal stuff, if you call that food) and Baby D was still alienlike. Liam started walking around the time that D started to crawl. Even six months ago, there was a substantial difference between the boys, but not so much anymore. After the motorcycle races, they came inside and made towers out of bristle blocks, chatting away for nearly 20 minutes.

The differences between them now are minimal -- mostly personality based now. They do the same things, eat mostly the same foods, speak the same language. Even in size, Liam is still a tiny bit taller, but that's it.

Suri's a different story. She and D are the same age but she's tiny compared to Liam and Devin. I have a feeling they will all catch up by three.

Tonight Liam said his prayers, like always. But he added a thank you to God for giving him his friends, and his motorbike, and for birthdays.

Motorbike races:

07-09 Motorbike

On July 24th Liam weighed about 31 pounds and he calls himself a big boy. He can sing the ABC song on his own, with only a little help.

Harry Potter and the Helicopter Teeter Totter

Friday night Liam's Daddy went to see the new Harry Potter movie with Devin's Daddy. After Liam was in bed, a phone call was made to arrange the details. Liam obviously overheard the discussion.

Shortly after Daddy left, Liam toddled into Mommy's room, blankie in tow. He wanted to know why Daddy was going to the park.

"Daddy go Teeter Totter?" Liam's favorite attraction at the froggie park is the helicopter-themed teeter totter.

I didn't get the connection at first. I told him Daddy went out for a little while. Daddy was not at the park, back in bed.

Liam grudgingly crawled back in bed.

Twenty minutes later, the sun had gone down and it was dark in Liam's room. He appeared again.

"Mommy, Liam scared. Daddy at teeter totter too long. Dark outside. Daddy lost."

I still didn't get the Harry Potter/Teeter Totter connection. He was upset though. I took him to the front porch, where first we drank milk, and then I planned to rock him to sleep. It was too hot upstairs.

He did not fall asleep, insisting that we were waiting for Daddy to come home. I could hear TV on inside, where I heard a commercial for the new Harry Potter movie. It was then that I understood Liam's confusion.

Liam thought Daddy went to play on the Teeter Totter with Brian. The park closes at dark, so when Daddy didn't appear after sunset, something was wrong. Come to think of it, there might be something odd about two grown men teetering and tottering for hours in the dark.

I thought about explaining the confusion to Liam, but had no way to explain Harry Potter without making him sound fun (which he is), in which case Liam would want to know all about Harry Potter.

You're asking why not introduce him to HP? We currently have a long list of phobias, including bears, dinosaurs, alligators, bunnies, big things, bumpy roads, thunder, dentists (rightly so) and Batman. Do we need to add a Whomping Willow or a three-headed dog? Not yet.

Vacation & Big, Big Booms

June 26th- July 2nd

Vacation: Lake Chelan

We managed to escape the city for a few days at the end of June. Having heard great things about the vacation town of Lake Chelan, we packed up and headed out for our 5th Anniversary. Our friends Joya, Suri, Kaylin and Cara were nice enough to join us!

We played at the park and visited a petting zoo/farm. Liam and Cara met goats, ducks, and piggies, and a very hungry horsie. Liam was afraid of the big animals, especially once the horse tried to eat Liam's pants!

The condo we rented was right on Lake Chelan, with several swimming pools and a sandy beach. Joya and Kaylin watched the kids while Mommy & Daddy went out for a delicious anniversary dinner. (Thanks!) Hard to believe five years went by so fast. (We also can't believe how small our friends Cara, Imants and Alnis were back then!)

After our friends went home, we went on an adventure to Stehekin (pronounced Sta-hee-kin), which is located in North Cascades National Park, right at the top of Lake Chelan. No roads lead there, so everyone who visits takes the Lady of the Lake ferry. Liam loved being on the ferry!

At Stehekin, a little village in the Mountains, we had a magical day. We took Liam on his first hike. It was a steep mountain path with a fantastic view of the mountains and lake. He enjoyed hiking and walked by himself in all but the muddy parts.

We taught Liam to play Poohsticks on the bridge over a fast-moving mountain stream. Pooh Sticks is a British tradition, taken from The House at Pooh Corner,

That was the beginning of the game called Poohsticks, which Pooh invented, and which he and his friends used to play on the edge of the Forest ... One day Pooh and Piglet and Rabbit and Roo were all playing Poohsticks together. They had dropped their sticks in when Rabbit said "Go!" and then they had hurried across to the other side of the bridge, and now they were all leaning over the edge, waiting to see whose stick would come out first.

Needless to say, Liam enjoyed Poohsticks, perhaps because the stream was swift, so the sticks appeared quickly, or perhaps because he was able to understand the simple rules and play on his own. This was essentially the first game Liam played, with rules and a winner. Pretty soon, we can read Liam the Winnie-the-Pooh stories. I've been careful not to spoil them by introducing the Disney era characters, though he recognizes multiple versions of both Pooh and Piglet.

After lunch, we rented bikes and rode a few miles around the northern perimeter of the lake. After a well-deserved ice cream, we biked back and caught the ferry home. We thought we would all struggle with a 4-hour ferry ride back, but the time flew. Liam played with other kids on board. We all had a great time.

We finished our vacation with a walk and an ice cream in downtown Chelan. Liam came across a wood-carved statue of a bear, taller than he was. At first he liked the bear... but then he was scared of the bear. We heard about the scary bear much of the way home.

Home is, in fact a wonderful place, especially in the summer. We came home, sorted out a big mess involving our dogsitter, our car and an accident. More on that to come in a future post.
Our vacation ended with a bang, literally, with the 4th of July. We met our friends at the park in Auburn. Liam and Devin played in bouncy houses and pet the animals at the petting zoo. Liam even mustered enough courage to ride a pony, which in the past he was too scared to do. After dinner in our garden with the neighbors, we all went over to Lake Tapps, which is about 10 minutes from our house. The people there set off their own shows, each one trying to outdo the neighbors. Instead of a scripted 30-minute show, we watched a sky filled with patches of exploding color, for around an hour. With the mountain as a backdrop, and plenty of room for three toddlers to roam, I couldn't help but think it was the best possible place.

Liam was enchanted by the "Big, big booms" so much that he didn't want to leave. Driving home, along the perimeter of Lake Tapps, we continued to hear Booms all the way home. Once we were home, we looked out the window of our bedroom, which overlooks Pacific, Milton, and Fife all the way out to the Port of Tacoma. To the distance in the North, we could make out the shadows of the Olympics. All across this vista, we watched the continual carpet of color exploding. Liam called these "tiny booms" and we watched until we fell asleep.